Miracle baby alive after being dumped down storm drain

'I cannot help but feel that there is some sort of a plan and a purpose for that little girls' life.'
- byGeorgia Mars

11 Apr
2018

A newborn baby has been dubbed the 'miracle' baby after surviving being abandoned in a freezing storm drain surrounded by red ants.

Charmaine Keevy was out walking her dog in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, when it started barking uncontrollably at the drain entrance.

Keevy claimed she heard a noise which she believed to be a cat meowing, but when she got on her hands and knees realised it was a baby crying.

Charmaine began frantically waving down passing cars for help until motorist Cornie Viljoen pulled over. After listening for himself, both Keevy and Viljoen agreed they could definitely hear a baby sobbing.

After managing to lift the drain, Cornie dropped into the drain pipe and immediately began being stung by red ants.

He told Daily Mail: 'When I got into the hole it was higher than my head and it was so narrow that I had to go down on my knees and I couldn't bend over so had to feel down for the baby below.

'The red ants were stinging my legs but then I felt this baby's leg and then saw the baby and I realised that this was a crime scene so I took a flash picture and handed my phone up to Charmaine.

'I didn't know if the baby was injured so I tried to pick her up very carefully and very slowly and she was so small. I just wanted to hold her for a while but I knew that she needed urgent medical help.

'The baby was lucky the red ants were higher up in the drain and not down at the bottom where she was.

'I just do not know why anyone could do this to a new born baby but I was just so glad that we were able to help her and save her life. I told Charmaine to call the emergency services right away.'

Emergency services arrived quickly and the child was treated for hypothermia.

The hospital staff in Port Elizabeth named her Grace April

Cornie Viljoen

Provincial Health Spokeswoman Sizwe Kupelo said the newly born tot was found naked with the umbilical cord still attached and that she was suffering from hypothermia and respiratory problems.

Police spokeswoman Colonel Priscilla Naidu revealed the only way the child could have ended up in the drain, was if someone had removed the covering, climbed in, and placed her there.

'There is a possibility that the person who did this may have come from outside the area and placed the child there. We are appealing for witnesses and the mother of this baby to come forward,' she said.

An investigation is currently underway.

Charmaine, who was the first person to hear the child's cries, said: 'I cannot help but feel that there is some sort of a plan and a purpose for that little girls' life – it is a miracle without a doubt.'

Georgia MarsGeorgia Mars is a Digital Content Editor at New Idea Magazine. As a self-professed celeb expert, Georgia claims to know everything about everyone! When she's not digging deep for the next big celebrity scoop, you can find Georgia catching up on the latest reality TV.